Feb. 12, 2018, 1:42 p.m.

Crews continue placing rebar panels for the new sidewalls and structural concrete on the Lake Oroville flood control spillway on Oct. 13. (Kelly M. Grow / California Department of Water Resources)

California lawmakers unanimously passed new legislation Monday to inspect most dams and reservoirs annually, one year after state officials ordered emergency evacuations for hundreds of thousands of residents living below the Oroville Dam.

“More needs to be done to ensure the safety and integrity of our water infrastructure,” said Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), the bill’s author.

Under current law, state inspectors are required to examine the condition of dams, but don’t have specified timelines. Last year, after strong rainfall across Northern California, the Oroville Dam reached capacity and its main spillway was severely damaged. The threat of the spillway’s failure led to a sudden evacuation order due to fear of flooding and levee failures for miles around the dam.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday received his second major endorsement from law enforcement in his 2018 bid for governor, giving him some influential and well-funded allies in a tightening race.

The California Police Chiefs Assn. announced its endorsement at a morning news conference a month after Villaraigosa was backed by the Peace Officers Research Assn. of California, the largest law enforcement organization in the state with 70,000 members.

“As a mayor of Los Angeles for eight years he tackled crime in one of the most challenging cities in the United States,” Gardena Police Chief Edward Medrano, president of the association, said at the news conference.

Feb. 12, 2018, 6:00 a.m.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his first digital ad in the governor’s race on Monday, timed to the 14-year anniversary of when San Francisco issued the first marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The minute-long spot argues that Newsom showed courage by being out front on issues such as gay marriage as well as universal healthcare and gun control.

The online ad starts with archival video of gay couples exchanging vows in 2004, as Newsom’s voice is heard declaring, “Today we can confidently say is the first day in the state of California that we are providing marriage equally and fairly to everyone and denying no one their right and their opportunity to live their lives out loud.”

Feb. 12, 2018, 5:00 a.m.

The California Police Chiefs Assn. on Monday endorsed former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for California governor, the second major law enforcement organization to back the Democratic candidate.

In January, Villaraigosa was also endorsed by the Peace Officers Research Assn. of California, the largest law enforcement organization in the state, with 70,000 members.

During Villaraigosa’s eight years as mayor, he hired hundreds of police officers and violent crime plummeted in the city. Villaraigosa has made his record one of the pillars of his campaign for governor.

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Feb. 12, 2018, 12:05 a.m.

Seven years ago, at the depth of the state’s budget crisis, Gov. Jerry Browneliminated an urban renewal program that provided billions of dollars annually for economic development and low-income housing. Ever since, lawmakers have tried and failed to bring it back.

Feb. 11, 2018, 4:21 p.m.

Republican candidate for governor Travis Allen praised President Trump during his rally on the steps of the state Capitol Sunday afternoon. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

Calling himself the only “true conservative” in California’s race for governor, Republican Travis Allen revived up a crowd of supporters at the state Capitol Sunday with praise for President Trump and calls for cutting taxes and securing the border.

A few hundred people showed up to hear Allen, an assemblyman from Huntington Beach, at his “Take Back California” rally Sunday afternoon, an event peppered with patriotic chants and signs slamming Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and calling for the repeal of the gas tax.

Allen rattled off a list of “day one” policy changes he would make if elected governor: repealing the newly approved gas tax; scrapping plans to replumb the state water supply system with the Delta tunnels; nixing the high-speed rail system and tossing out California’s so-called “sanctuary state” law.